Sefer Yeshayahu chapter 33. "Woe to you who plunder, though you were not plundered; who betray, though they did not betray you. When you cease plundering, you will be plundered; when you stop betraying, they will betray you." Woe to you who plunder, though you were not plundered: now he turns to Sancheriv. He says: you, Sancheriv, plundered many nations, yet you yourself were not plundered. That is, no one plundered you. And if no one plundered you, then why did you go and plunder others?
He says something further: woe to you who betray, though they did not betray you. You betrayed many nations. There were many nations that made a covenant with you and you betrayed them. He asks: yet they did not betray you, they were not disloyal to you, so why did you go and betray them? Toward those who made a covenant with you, at least toward them you should show faithfulness. But he tells him: know this, when you finish plundering, "when you cease plundering, you will be plundered." When you finish plundering, meaning when you complete your deeds, then the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring about the final plan, and then you yourself will be plundered. "You will be plundered" means they will plunder you, and it is also a term of blood being spilled, like "his blood will be poured out to the ground." So you, the plunderer, will be plundered. "When you stop betraying": nilotecha means an ending, like completion, as in "their tendril will not stretch to the ground." When you stop betraying, they will betray you.
The Rav of Brisk, the Griz HaLevi, explains in the name of the Grach, in the name of Rav Chaim of Brisk, that there are predatory animals whose strength lies in their venom, and their venom is their very life force. If such an animal does not prey, if it does not release its venom, then this actually harms it. It actually causes it damage; it must prey, it must inject its venom. Similar, though not comparable, to a cow that must give milk, for if it does not, this harms it. So too there are animals that, if they do not release the venom from within, that venom begins to affect them negatively. That is what he is saying, and that is what is happening here. He says: woe to you who plunder, though you were not plundered. He says: you are such a plunderer that all the time you must constantly plunder others. And when you cease plundering, when you finish plundering others, of necessity you will be plundered. For your venom did not come into action, you did not release it, so what happens? It begins to have a negative effect on the animal itself. So he says: since your nature is to harm others, the moment you can no longer perform this act, then your life force, from where do you draw it all? From the harm you do to others, and this itself will weaken you. Since this venom is not directed at others, it will have a negative effect on you, and therefore when you cease plundering, when you finish plundering, then automatically you yourself will be plundered, and it will become possible to plunder you.
"Hashem, be gracious to us, we have waited for You; be their arm every morning, our salvation too in time of trouble." Hashem, we turn to the Holy One, blessed be He, and ask: Master of the Universe, be gracious to us, give us a free gift, save us from that plunderer. "Be their arm": according to Rashi the meaning is: be an arm, a term of strength, their arm every morning, day after day when he oppresses us, be our arm, meaning a mighty arm, a strong hand to save us from the hand of our enemies.
The Malbim explains here an original interpretation. What is "be their arm every morning"? The Malbim explains that zeroam here is a term of light, like "light is sown for the righteous." Just as the morning represents light after the night that was darkness, the night that represented distress, so now when the light of morning begins to shine, be their arm for the mornings. Who are these? Who are the ones who had a night? These are the ten tribes. The ten tribes now had a state of night, for they are in exile. We are speaking now of Sancheriv who came to besiege Yerushalayim after the ten tribes had already been exiled. Therefore, Master of the Universe, I turn to You first regarding those already in darkness, that now light should begin to shine upon them, be their arm for the mornings. Bring the morning upon them, so that this light begins to be light sown upon them. But there are also those here who face the threat of exile, and who are they? Chizkiyahu and his company, all of Yerushalayim. We ask: our salvation too in time of trouble. For us do not wait until morning, but now, in the very time of trouble, now in the very night, now, Master of the Universe, save us in the time of trouble, when he besieges Yerushalayim, let the salvation come now. Be their arm now, Master of the Universe, for the mornings of the ten tribes, and for us in the time of trouble, meaning at this very time.
"At the sound of the tumult peoples fled; at Your exaltation nations were scattered." He says thus, Master of the Universe: if at the sound of the tumult of people, and who is this? This is Sancheriv's camp, peoples fled. Sancheriv exiled the nations, confused the nations. He took a nation from here, planted it there, took a nation from there, brought it here. He took Yisrael from here, placed them in Kuta, in Ava, in Sefarvayim. He brought Kutim from Kuta here and settled them here. He confused the nations. Therefore today too we do not know who is Amalek, we do not know who is an Egyptian. We have no way today of knowing about each of the nations who and what it is. Since today there is no such reality of an original Egyptian or an original Amalekite, we have no way. Sancheriv confused the nations. Therefore he says: Master of the Universe, at the sound of the tumult peoples fled. The peoples fled at the sound of Sancheriv's tumult. Why is it called hamon (tumult)? Because when the nations went out to war, they would terrify with shouts, with all the horns, with all the screams; through shouts and screams they would terrify. This is called hamon, a term of clamor. Hemyah is a term of noise. So at the sound of the tumult, from all of Sancheriv's noise, peoples fled. But Master of the Universe, we do not fear, for at Your exaltation nations were scattered. You, Hashem, Master of the Universe, through Your exaltation, through the might of the Blessed One, these nations that pose a threat to us were scattered. Scattered means they will be dispersed in every direction. So even those who so frighten all the nations, we do not fear them.
"Your spoil will be gathered as the locust gathers; as pools swarm, one swarms upon it." There are two lines in interpreting this verse. There is the plain interpretation, which is what Chazal say, Rashi and the Radak, who explain that it refers to the might by which Yisrael overcame the enemy. And there is the interpretation of the Malbim who explains that the meaning is the opposite: what the enemy will do to us. Let us first follow what Chazal explain. Chazal say this took place in the days of Chizkiyahu; a prophet said to Yisrael: your spoil will be gathered. We explained that when Sancheriv arrived here, he came with much spoil that he took from Tirhaka, king of Kush. We explained that in the middle they summoned him, called him, told him: come now, attack your own land; immediately he left everything here, but he said: bear in mind, I am still returning. And afterward, when he returned, he returned with all the silver and gold along with his army, and all of it fell into our hands. So this is: your spoil will be gathered. The prophet said to Yisrael: your spoil will be gathered. They asked him: to plunder or to divide? There are two possibilities for taking spoil. There is the possibility to plunder, each one plundering for himself. Whatever you took, you put in your pocket, it is yours. And there is the possibility to divide: everyone gathers, places it together, makes one large heap, a large pile, and divides it among everyone equally. So he asks: to plunder? They asked him: to plunder or to divide? He said to them: as the locust gathers. What is the gathering of the locust? There is no such thing as dividing. The chasil is the locust. Each one takes for himself. So too your spoil, each one for himself. They asked him: wait, but there is also money of Yisrael here, for the money of the ten tribes is mixed in. They came here with money, part of the money belongs also to the ten tribes, so that is already money of Yisrael, not money of a gentile. He said to them: as pools swarm, one swarms upon it. What is "as pools"? What are gevim? Gevim means a place where waters gathered. Many times they would immerse there in those pools. Gevim are like pits in which the waters gathered. So he said to them: just as these pools raise a person from impurity to purity, so too the money of Yisrael, once it fell into the hand of the gentile, is immediately pure. When a gentile robs money from a Jew and the Jew despairs of it, it becomes the gentile's. Whoever now takes it from the gentile has taken money for himself, and I do not say to him: this is Yisrael's money, you must return it to them. Thus he says to them: as pools swarm, one swarms upon it. Like these pools that become pure through immersion in those sources of water, the money that fell into these pools, meaning into Sancheriv's hand, became pure. You may take it and it will be yours. So according to this it comes out that here it speaks of the enemy's spoil that will fall into our hands.
But the Malbim explains differently. The Malbim explains that here the Holy One, blessed be He, gives an answer, as it were, to the prophet. We turn and say: you plunder yet were not plundered, betray yet they did not betray you, we ask of Hashem: be gracious to us, we have waited for You, be their arm for the mornings. And we say: Master of the Universe, if at the sound of the tumult peoples fled, then all the more so, when You reveal Yourself to us and exact punishment from them, then nations will be scattered. The Holy One, blessed be He, answers us: your spoil will be gathered as the locust gathers. Hashem says to him: know this, this enemy will come and gather your spoil, your money, as the locust gathers. Not that the locust gathers, but as one gathers the locust in a time of rain: as pools swarm, one swarms upon it. What does this mean? Gevim, as we said, is a place where waters are concentrated. Rain is the pouring of the waters that comes down and fills the pools. When one wants to gather the locust, what is the simplest way? If rain falls. When rain falls, the waters gather, there are puddles, and now you gather it. It cannot fly in the rain. It cannot; the locust cannot fly in the rain. Rain falls, and there one goes and gathers it easily. So he says: know for yourselves, your spoil will be gathered easily by Sancheriv, just as one gathers as pools swarm, one gathers the locust at a time when there is rain, meaning moisture, swarming waters that pour down and flow, falling rain, and then one can easily gather the locust.
"Hashem is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Tziyon with justice and righteousness." Hashem is exalted and lofty in that He dwells on high, meaning distinct from human beings. And Hashem will fill Tziyon with other treasures. You ask: but Sancheriv will come and take the treasures? The Holy One, blessed be He, tells you: I will give more precious treasures, more exalted than the spoil you lost. What are these treasures? He has filled Tziyon with justice and righteousness. For following Sancheriv's threat, Yisrael does teshuvah. Following Sancheriv's threat, Yisrael draws close to the Holy One, blessed be He. And so it comes out here that although they took a treasure from us, what was that treasure? The silver and gold. For in the first times Sancheriv came here he took silver from us. But what did we receive in exchange? We received justice and righteousness. For we did teshuvah, we drew close to the Blessed One. Indeed, the generation of Chizkiyahu were righteous. So he says: therefore there is here an immense spoil that we took in exchange for the material spoil that Sancheriv took from here. This is more precious than all the spoil he took from here.
"And there will be faithfulness in your times, strength of salvations, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of Hashem, that is his treasure." The Malbim explains: in place of the strength, chosen being strength, spoil, money, in place of the spoil you lost, you have another strength, you received another gain. What is the gain? Faithfulness in your times. That you had faith in the times, in these evil times, in these hard times, your heart did not retreat from faith in Hashem. We saw Chizkiyahu go to sleep with absolute trust that the Holy One, blessed be He, would perform a miracle for him. This immense faith will be your strength, it is a treasure of salvations, of wisdom and knowledge. You gained wisdom and knowledge, knowledge of Hashem. Wisdom to grow wise and to gain understanding in the Blessed One. So although you lost money that he came at first to take, afterward you strengthened yourselves in trust, you had faith in Hashem. And if you ask, where shall we store this strength? What we acquired, the faith we received here, the strengthening in spirituality we received here, where shall we store it? He tells you: the fear of Hashem, that is his treasure. The fear of Hashem is the treasure in which you can preserve everything you received. When a person acquires a good trait for himself, when a person acquires for himself an ascent in the service of Hashem, how does he preserve it? Through the fear of Hashem. If you have the fear of Hashem, then you hold on to that ascent, you continue in it further, you rise even more. But if there is no fear of Hashem, then we saw something, we were moved, there is a God! and the next day we go about as before. A maidservant saw at the sea and remained a maidservant. They witnessed the standing at Har Sinai and after forty days made a calf. If there is fear of Hashem, then you stopped it, you captured that same inspiration, you captured that same faith that accompanied you in those exalted times. So he says: we received immense things, faithfulness in your times, at that time we merited faith, strength of salvations of wisdom and knowledge of Hashem. All of this on condition that you capture it, that you preserve the great moments. How? With the fear of Hashem, that is his treasure. So excellent, you have a place to capture it, and through this that wondrous experience will be preserved with you and through it you will leverage it into the service of Hashem.
This verse is one familiar to all from the Gemara, which expounds the six orders of the Mishnah from it. And I want to read the Gemara and see how the six orders of the Mishnah are hinted at here. Although this is not according to the order of the text or the plain meaning of the text, nevertheless this verse is fundamental in that the Gemara derives the entire Shas from it, and therefore we want to see this Gemara. Gemara Masechet Shabbat, page 31a. Reish Lakish said: what is meant by the verse "and there will be faithfulness in your times, strength of salvations, wisdom and knowledge"? The Gemara explains: itecha (your times) is the order of Moed. Chosen (strength) is the order of Nashim. Yeshuot (salvations) is the order of Nezikin. Chochmat (wisdom) is the order of Kodashim. Vadaat (and knowledge) is the order of Taharot. And even so, meaning even if one learned all six orders, completed the entire Shas, the fear of Hashem, that is his treasure. That is, only if there is fear of Hashem is this the place to capture all of it. But if not, then you gathered, gathered, gathered, but it is not captured within you. How does one capture it? Through the fear of Hashem. Rava said: at the time they bring a person to judgment they say to him: did you deal faithfully in business? Did you set fixed times for Torah? Did you engage in being fruitful and multiplying? Did you await the salvation? Did you engage in the give and take of wisdom? Did you understand one thing from another? And even so, after all this, they ask one thing, they check one thing: the fear of Hashem, that is his treasure; if there is, then yes, and if not, then no. If you did all this but not out of fear of Heaven, it is worth nothing. A parable to a person who said to his agent: bring up for me a kor of wheat to the upper chamber. There in the upper chamber they would store the wheat. Bring up for me there a kor of wheat, a large quantity. He went and brought it up for him. He said to him: did you mix in for me a kav of chumton? A kav of chumton is a preserving agent. Did you also put in there the preserving agent for the produce? He said to him: no. He said to him: it would have been better had you not brought it up. All this produce will rot, so what did you accomplish? A pity for all the effort. So too here. Everything we mentioned now, did you deal faithfully in business, did you set fixed times for Torah, all of this only if it is accompanied by the fear of Hashem. But if he did all this without fear of Heaven, and we explained this means also without intent to reach lishmah. He has no intent to reach lishmah, why does he do it? For fun; he learns Torah for fun. But not with the aim of knowing the Blessed One. Even if he is not yet at the complete level, but he at least aspires to lishmah, then they say to him: it would have been better had you not brought it up.
Now, how are the tractates hinted at here? Itecha is the order of Moed, chosen is the order of Nashim. So Rashi explains, let us begin with emunat (faithfulness). Emunat is the order of Zeraim. In the Yerushalmi it is written: why? Because one has faith in the Life of the worlds and sows. So Tosafot explains. That is, in order to sow one must have faith in Hashem. I sow, and who knows whether rain will fall? If rain falls, who knows, perhaps the produce will rot in the ground. Many things can happen. So emunat: I have faith in the Holy One, blessed be He, and I sow. Emunat is the order of Zeraim. Rashi explains something further: emunat, that a person has faith in Hashem, upon this he relies to separate his tithes. For when you take the seed from the field, bring the produce home, you separate tithes. Tithes are not a simple matter; it is twenty percent of everything you brought in from the seeds that you must give to the poor. Who can give such a thing? Only one who has faith in Hashem. But one who does not have faith in Hashem says: why on earth should I take out twenty percent of my income? And on top of that pay income tax and VAT? No, that does not suit me. But if I have faith in Hashem, then I know: tithe so that you may become wealthy. So on the contrary, all the blessing depends on how much I give. In such a state, without any doubt, a person will have blessing and success. Therefore he says emunat is the order of Zeraim. In order to give what you received from the produce of the field one needs faith in Hashem. There is another explanation, the Maharsha says: what is the first tractate of the order of Zeraim? Berachot. So the Maharsha says: when a person learns the laws of berachot, he knows that the first thing one learns is to make how many blessings? One hundred blessings each day, correct? And whoever makes a blessing, what does the one who hears him say? Amen. So emunat is the order of Zeraim, the beginning of masechet Berachot, which is the beginning of the order of Zeraim. This strengthens faith, for every amen means: I have faith in Hashem. The blessings are what bring a person to faith and strengthen the faith.
Chosen is the order of Nashim. Why? Because what is achsanta in Aramaic? Inheritance. Achsanta is inheritance, appearing often in the Targum. Through the woman there are heirs, so this is chosen. That is one possibility. There is another way to explain: honor your wives so that you may become wealthy. Honor your wives so that through this you become rich. So chosen, the woman is, as it were, your economic strength. If you honor her, you will have economic strength. So chosen is the order of Nashim. The Maharsha brings that it is also an acronym: chosen, chelek seder Nashim (portion, order Nashim), written without a vav. Chosen, the letters chet, samech, nun. Yeshuot, the Gemara said this is the order of Nezikin. For when you learn a tractate of the order of Nezikin, you will know how to be saved from all sorts of troubles. It will save you so that you do not cause damage here, so that your cow does not eat in a place it should not enter, and so on. The order of Nezikin, learn it properly, be careful not to harm others, so this is yeshuot, you will have salvation from harming someone else. The Maharsha explains that there are four principal categories of damages: the ox, the pit, the mav'eh, and the fire. It is written in the holy books that these correspond to heavenly damages. There are damages, there are supernal destructive forces that come to harm a person, and corresponding to them are the lower damages: the ox, the pit, the mav'eh, and the fire. So we need salvation from Hashem to save us from those destructive forces, from the supernal destructive forces. So the title yeshuot fits this. Chochmat is the order of Kodashim, for as is known, the order of Kodashim requires great wisdom. Vadaat is the order of Taharot, for knowledge is superior to wisdom, a higher level than wisdom, in that the matter becomes for him in the aspect of knowledge, meaning that he delves into it and understands it also with his intellect.
Let us proceed. "Behold, their erelim cried outside; the messengers of peace weep bitterly." Does anyone know the word erelam anywhere else in Tanach? Do not search, it is a unique word in all of Tanach. Therefore there are four interpretations here in order to explain it. We have already explained several times that the way to interpret a word in Tanach is through concordance. So do Rashi, the Radak, all the commentators. How does one interpret a word in Tanach? Through concordance. That is, there is a word, I want to know its meaning, so I look at other places. A concordance is a book that brings all the places where this word appears. I open to other places where the word appears, and then through this I understand the meaning of the word. If, for example, I do not know the meaning of the word mashkeh, and I open to other places and I see a verse written mashkeh and a plant grew, then I already understand from the context that mashkeh is some action that causes the plant to grow. From another place I see mashkeh with water, so I already understand that irrigation means to wet the garden so that it grows the plants. This is the accepted way to understand words. The whole problem is when we have no other similar word to it. It is a unique word and then I have to begin, I have nothing to compare it to. So what do I have to do? To begin to search for words similar to it. It is not the same word, but there is a word, so I say it is the same root. Although this word does not appear again in Tanach, there is a similar root elsewhere. And here already the divergences of opinion begin, for there is one who compares it to this root, and one who compares it to another root. And therefore you see here in our verse there are four interpretations for this word erelam.
Rashi explains: behold, their erelim cried outside. It is written that the altar is called ariel. So erelam, or the Mikdash too is called ariel. Erelam means: they cried outside, they already cried and lamented in the streets and squares over the altar that was lost to them, over their erelam they cried outside. The messengers of peace weep bitterly: the angels who were accustomed to announce peace, they do not perform their work because now there is trouble, Sancheriv besieges Yerushalayim here, the altar is idle and nullified, so their erelam, the people cry over the altar, cry outside, Master of the Universe, we want to return and offer sacrifices. That is according to Rashi. The Radak brings three more interpretations. The Radak explains erelam as angels. As it is written: "the erelim cried out to the meytzukim," yes, where the meaning is the supernal forces, the angels who defeated the mighty ones of the earth. So he says: behold, their erelam, the angels cried outside. They cry out to the Holy One, blessed be He. The messengers of peace weep bitterly. So in effect he doubled the matter with different words. Erelam and messengers are two types of emissaries. There is a physical emissary and there is a spiritual emissary. As is often said, Chazal say regarding "and he sent malachim," sometimes Chazal say actual angels, sometimes Chazal say emissaries. So a malach can be expressed as a human emissary, and can also be expressed as a supernal spiritual force. Therefore he says it is written twice here, erelam and messengers of peace, to speak of the two types, both the physical emissaries and the angels who are spiritual emissaries. There is another explanation the Radak brings in the name of Targum Yonatan, who says erelam is an abbreviation of two words: er'eh lahem (I will show them). The meaning is: I will show them. Erelam, er'eh lahem. The wording of the Targum is thus: when He is revealed to them they will cry out bitterly, the emissaries of the nations who went to announce peace will return to be weeping with bitterness of soul. When He is revealed to them, when He reveals Himself to them, they will cry out with bitterness. Erelam means I will show them; when I show them, they cried outside. And then they will come and weep. The messengers of peace, the emissaries whom the nations send to make peace with Sancheriv, return in weeping, for Sancheriv did not make peace with them but went and destroyed them all. There is another explanation, and this is the explanation of the Malbim. The Malbim explains that erelam means their mighty warriors. Where do you see this? "And he struck the ariel of Moav on the day of snow." Erelam is a term of a mighty warrior. So behold, their erelam cried outside. The mighty warriors of the Assyrian camp cried out where? Outside Yerushalayim. They stood and cried out, telling them: surrender. We remember Ravshakeh, his men, who stood and cried out in Yehudit, meaning in the holy tongue. You have no chance, Sancheriv destroyed everyone, Sancheriv consumed everyone, no one defeated him, he is invincible. So why do you still persist? Rebel against Chizkiyahu. Thus they stood on the wall and cried out in Yehudit. He said to him: speak in your language, in Aramaic, why do you speak Yehudit? So what did he say to him? I am not seeking you, I want the people to hear. I want the people to hear and to rebel against the king. That was their plan. So erelam, their mighty warriors of the Assyrian camp, cried outside, standing on the walls from outside and crying out and blaspheming God there. And also the messengers of peace, Chizkiyahu sent messengers and emissaries to Sancheriv to make peace with him, they too weep bitterly. They return and announce to him: Sancheriv is not willing to make peace with you. They return and bitterly weep that now there is no choice, for Sancheriv is about to enter and conquer Yerushalayim.
"The highways are desolate, the wayfarer has ceased; he has broken the covenant, despised the cities, considered no man." The highways are desolate: he says that even along the sides of the roads none pass. The wayfarer has ceased, entirely. Out of great fear. When was there another such time when people feared to travel the road? "On the paths of the archers, among the water-drawers, the wayfarers ceased, until I arose, Devorah." Correct? The wayfarers ceased, people feared to travel the road, there was terrible fear in the time of Sisera. So too here, the highways are desolate. Mesilot means the highway upon which one ascends, the road, the paved way. The highways are desolate, the wayfarer has ceased, people no longer travel the road at all. The enemy who had a covenant with Chizkiyahu broke the covenant. Despised the cities: they say to him, fine, we are cities, we will leave them standing, we will become tribute-bearers to you, we will pay you taxes. No, despised the cities, not interested in tribute-bearing, I am interested in coming to conquer and destroy them all. Considered no man: there might have been room to leave some of the common people, vinedressers, farmers, to have a little mercy on man. Considered no man. Meaning he did not have mercy even on the simple people, he decided that he was coming and destroying everything. The Radak brings an explanation in the name of his father, that Yisrael would say: God has already broken His covenant with us and despised our cities. That is, broke the covenant, we understood now that it refers to Sancheriv. The Radak brings an original explanation in the name of his father, that Yisrael, as it were, claim: the Holy One, blessed be He, broke the covenant. Despised the cities, what is despised the cities? It is written: "a land upon which the eyes of Hashem your God are." And now the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, despised the cities, His eyes are not upon us, for behold we see that Sancheriv came to besiege us and we are in great danger.
"The land mourns and languishes; Levanon is ashamed and withered; Sharon has become like a wilderness; Bashan and Karmel are shaken." The land mourns. Aval is a term of mourning. The land mourns, it is as if in mourning, all of the land of Yehudah in general. Levanon is ashamed, the forest, Levanon always expresses the forest, the forest of Levanon. And afterward, in the next stage, he destroyed the Sharon as well. The Sharon became like a wilderness; aravah is an uninhabited place. That is what he says, Sharon has become like a wilderness. Kamel is a term of a plant that grows and withers. And Bashan and Karmel are shaken. And Bashan and Karmel too were shaken, meaning a term of shaking them, that is, Sancheriv conquered these as well.